Using https for Synaptic software sources

Using https for Synaptic software sources

5 August 2013
Here is my problem: I only have access to public wireless services.
On occasion I can use a service that does not interfere with Synaptic or
apt-get or aptitude: i.e. the provider does not filter certain file types
or web sites.
More commonly, say at a public library, anything that is not a .doc, .txt,
.pdf, or .htm is blocked, along with a host of often innocent keywords
(e.g. anonymizer).
When I use https however, I can download things, since the transaction is
private, end to end. I discovered this when I got Tor, which downloads via
https by default, and using Tor, I can get mainstream software, like
Firefox by directly downloading via https.
What I'd like to do is configure Synaptic software sources to use https as
a protocol. I can do this under the other software tab in the software
sources application by adding an "s" to the URL. There does not seem to a
way to force this for the main repositories, at least not in the GUI.
Apart from adjusting the configuration, there is the question of whether a
given mirror honors "https everywhere"
(https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere), which in this brave new world
strikes me as just common sense.
So how about it? Is there a way to do this? If not, shouldn't it be a
priority goal for the near future?